drowning in violet - skephalo

08:12 AM, Saturday

Zak slowly opened one eyelid, breaking away from his half-asleep state and exposing his vision to the interior of the tent he and Darryl had managed to creep into in the unearthly hours of whatever time he fell asleep on Darryl's chest. He was suddenly met with the familiar, warm scent of Darryl himself, as his eyes flickered downwards to find him on his own chest, his face hidden in his mass of hair, unruly from the restless sleep. Zak's heartbeat accelerated at the sight of him around the same time he noticed the warmth radiating off of him and onto his own skin.

It seemed considerably inconvenient that he had possibly never found himself more comfortable than he currently was in that position; immersed in their jumble of blankets that had become heated with both Darryl and Zak having slept on it for several hours. The twilight blue colored sky that glowed up the surroundings with a dim, early light was garish enough to give the message that it would've probably been a good idea to start getting ready for the day. By the look of the sky and the temperature of the air, Zak really wouldn't have estimated it was much past eight AM.

"Darryl." He gently nudged the sleeping boy in his arms, their legs tangled together which made any movement impossible without waking him up. Darryl stirred, responding to Zak's whisper with a sleepy frown, before blinking his eyes open and staring at him. After sparing a few seconds to recollect his thoughts and remind himself of where they were, the mild confusion dissolved in his expression.

"I'm too tired." Darryl mumbled, his voice thick and quiet. Even though he was still half asleep, the closeness gave him hope that Zak didn't bitterly regret what happened the night before. They both sat up, leaning on their hands and letting their shoulders rest against each-other as they both began to search around for what they were going to wear for the day. A few shirts were thrown haphazardly around the tent as they didn't really know how to 'unpack' their things, and so Darryl settled on a loose long-sleeve shirt and rolled-up jeans while Zak went for the classic black hoodie and light blue jeans approach.

They didn't feel the need to turn their backs on each other while they changed. Darryl's heart gave an unexpected thud, followed by the thrill that shimmered through the pit of his stomach as his eyes locked with Zak's, both of them shirtless. Darryl parted his lips slightly in order to give a response, although the sight of Zak's flawless complexion had left him with an embarrassing lack of speech.

One they had finished swapping clothes, the two sat beside each other, staring out into the sun-lit forest.

"I think... you taught me what it really feels like." Zak spoke quietly, interrupting their contemplative silence.

"What what feels like?" Darryl asked, shifting himself to face Zak rather than the seemingly endless expanse of flora before them.

"To kiss someone you actually have feelings for." He mumbled, his breath nearly visible in the cool morning air.

Daryl smiled, completely terrified of saying the wrong thing. "Well... who can expect anyone to love the dull star, when they can easily have the sun?" Darryl sighed, settling with hiding his feelings behind a star-themed metaphor.

Zak, showing underlying signs of appreciation for Darryl's mention of the stars, gazed up into the sky as if expecting the stretch of the galaxy to be glimmering above them, despite the dim light of the morning.

"What makes the sun more special than the dull star?" Zak asked, falling onto his back suddenly and fixing his gaze at the star-less morning sky.

"Bigger. Brighter. More beautiful."

"The only reason it's bigger, and brighter, is because it's closer." Zak commented. "Distance doesn't affect a star's beauty. Only its appearance. In fact..." He hesitated. "I think, the dull star being further away from the sun only increases its beauty. The considerably longer distance between me and the dull star must mean that it's worth the journey in the end. Because once I'm close to it, after the long journey, it's as big, and as bright as the sun once was, when I was closer to it. So...," Zak turned to me, "if you're trying to describe yourself as the star, and all of those other girls as the sun then... I think I agree with you."

"Huh?" Darryl raised an eyebrow.

"I'm always waiting for the sun to set. When the sun goes down... the stars are allowed to shine."

"The stars get overshadowed by the sun's beauty." Darryl contradicted miserably.

"Only in the daytime."

"But everyone prefers daytime. They're asleep when the sky's true beauty is exposed."

"I'm not."

Darryl gulped, responseless.

"Darryl, if I asked you if you preferred the daytime sky; plain blue, accompanied by clouds, or the night sky where the endless constellations of stars shine into the universe above us, which would you choose?" Zak raised an eyebrow knowingly.

Darryl stared down to the piece of grass, which he had now nearly demolished as a result of constantly fiddling with it while he listened to Zak. "Come here." He mumbled, beckoning Zak to move his head closer towards him.

Thinking he was about to whisper something in his ear, Darryl took him completely by surprise, and instead tilted his head and pressed their lips together, kissing Zak abruptly. Being met with a network of electric thrills coursing through his veins, Zak melted into his lips, kissing him gently as he felt his warm breath wash over him, sending goosebumps shimmering across the surface of Darryl's skin.

They broke apart, both flustered. He hoped Zak wouldn't detect how deep his blush had actually become, although he noticed the way Zak's cheeks had flushed a pink colour amongst his usually smooth tanned complexion. Honestly, to Darryl, he looked holy bathed from behind with the morning light. He wasn't religious, but he looked like a painting of a saint.

Zak gave him a mildly questionable look, causing him to chuckle in response. He didn't verbally respond, although he slipped his hand into Darryl's, lacing their fingers together. His heart gave a significant enough response to the contact of skin-on-skin.

"I think I love you." Zak says, and Darryl thinks he can actually see it. His breath frozen in the air, newborn droplets of ice clinging onto each syllable of those five small words.

"I think I love you too." Darryl smiled, his heart exploding into a shower of lavender blossoms and gleaming amethyst over the surrounding world. He could feel his lungs intake the purple blessings, one part of him climbing up to heaven, and another sinking down into the earth, rooting their story for the following years of violet love.

A/N: thanks so much for reading! if you enjoyed this story, feel free to check out my new oneshots book, updated 1-2 times weekly. lots of love <3